The Hot Tests Have Begun at the Newly Reconstructed Rolling Mill

This morning, the first heated steel bloom has passed through the modernized rolling mill in Třinecké železárny (TŽ). So-called hot tests have begun to check if the newly installed technology is working properly.

"With some exaggeration, we can say that today we start with the heart's resuscitation after the transplantation. This was the biggest investment this year, costing CZK 700 million. We have undergone a major modernization of one of the oldest metallurgical plants producing the semis for the further processing into our final products," explains Ján Moder, the 1st Vice-Chairman of the Supervisory Board.

The blooming mill is rolling the biggest profiles, so the rollers call it the heart of all rolling mills. It was in operation in Třinec since 1914 and it was shut down this August. The construction required demolition and rebuilding the foundations below the carrier technology. The hole has absorbed 4,100 tons of concrete, which is more than 450 truck mixers, and 410 tons of reinforcing steel. No wonder, for it has to carry the weight of 1,258,747 kilograms of new technology, including a billet stand and a saw.

"Installing a new technology was a necessity, the old mill was well worn. Among others, the new semi-automatic line will increase the accuracy of our production, which influences further processing," explains Jan Czudek, CEO of TŽ. The blooming mill processes input blooms preheated in walking beam furnaces and soaking pits. The cast blooms of a rectangular section are preheated in a walking beam furnace. Cast blooms of a circular section as well as ingots are preheated in soaking pits.

"Today, the technology process of hot tests has begun to test all modes of operation, including starting and shutting down," said Radek Olszar, Director for Investments and Strategy. Afterwards we will begin the guarantee tests, and after their successful completion the blooming mill will enter the trial operation.

The full shutdown of the mill has also been used for numerous repairs on the entire track. The plant has acquired a new billet mill, which is able to prepare the material for the tube mill in Ostrava. After over thirty years of operation, the walking beam furnace has undergone the major overhaul and now it is equipped with an up to date control system and a heating model. We also installed new saw-drilling machine at the rail treatment line.

"The bearing technology of a rolling plant is a modern rolling mill together with hydraulic shears controlled by the latest technology. They are complemented by billet mill, a feeder and a saw," says Radek Olszar, Director for Investments and Strategy. He adds that the most difficult phase of the reconstruction was the demolition of the foundations, the real condition of which could not be accurately assessed before the beginning of the work.

Petra Macková Jurásková
Press Secretary of theTřinecké železárny - Moravia Steel Group
phone: +420 558 535 841
mobile: +420 602 265 738
e-mail: Petra.Mackova@trz.cz